Indian Battalion and we won! The Indian team we were playing was not
very good because many of them were just learning how to play (but then
again, so were many of our guys) but more importantly, our team had an
awesome first half where things were going right and the guys were able
to see (and be a part of) a good team. The passing was good, defense
was awesome, and in the second quarter it seemed like every shot went
in. It was great.
I was playing below the basket and commanded the paint. I imagine I
looked kind of funny at times with my arms in the air running around,
knees bent slightly to respond better. It was a blast though. I also
blocked some shots, intercepted some passes, and scored 10 of our 32
points or so (something like 32) including 2 three point shots. It was
great because the students were really excited and while it was a low
scoring game (the second half seemed to have every shot miss) the
defense was pretty good for UCBC which is an improvement over what I've
seen before. At the end the Indian Battalion invited all the students
for tea and some crackers and snacks. It was really cool. As another
bonus, I was also invited to come and play with them in the evening some
day as they play every day at 6:30, so I might have to take them up on
that and if I'm lucky (maybe I'm pushing my luck here!) get invited to
have some awesome Indian food!
The second thing is even more exciting than the basketball (well to me
anyways, and I'm pretty sure most people will agree). I have a return
flight now. I am coming back with Megan on June 6 in time for Sarah's
graduation on the 7th. What?! Yeah, that's right. I said June 6, as
in less than two months away. Actually, like a month and a half. I
just realized that now. That's pretty sweet. Why the early return when
I was originally planning on being here until December?
Originally I was thinking December, but my departure was already moved up to at least September because of applying to grad school (as many people know). Why then did it get pushed forward again to June?
A number of reasons really. First off is things aren't going incredibly
well in Goma. There is still fighting in the surrounding area so I
can't work in community development (one of the things I was really
looking forward to working with HEAL Africa because they do lots of work
in the village communities) and Mawe Hai isn't doing all that much
either because of the fighting as well. It's supposed to be a teaching
place and no one wants to come and learn about agriculture if they can't
do it at home because an army will just come and destroy/steal whatever
they do. War sucks. Besides that, I've had a couple ideas and they just
haven't taken hold. It seems the people working at Mawe Hai are very
happy with their (in my opinion) fairly easy jobs and don't want to do
anything more than they already are. Who would want to do more for the
same money? They are not going to become rich, but for the field work
they do, 55 dollars a month is a pretty darn good wage that many other
people would love to have.
That said, another possibility was to work in Beni for the rest of my
time at UCBC, but I don't really feel that that is a great option
either. I think Beni is a place I could come back to, but I really just
feel my time here in Congo is done. It's time to do something else.
What that something else is I'm not entirely sure because it's looking
like my chances to get into grad school are less and less as the days
pass, but I'm excited to see what God has planed for me.
Of course, there is also the missing my girlfriend and family and things
in Wisconsin, but I firmly believe that if things were going better and
there was more purpose in my time here that it would not be a big deal
at all. As it is, I'm super excited to go home in June and live with my
brother and one of my best friends for a summer (at least) and possibly
longer (depending on school).
That said, if you know of any job openings for something you think I
might be good at, let me know via jdparsons86@gmail.com Otherwise, I'll
be chilling in Milwaukee this summer so you'll have to drop me a line
and hang out sometime anyways because I'm pretty sure the Parsons'
Fortress is the sweetest compound (yes, anyone who has seen the
retaining walls we built in our front yards would agree it's a compound)
in all of south eastern Wisconsin. See you soon (if you're reading this
from Wisconsin)!
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